Chinese Paper Calls for More Carriers as India Unveils Its Own

Aug. 13 (Bloomberg) -- China needs to speed development of
an aircraft carrier after India’s launch of its first such
vessel offered a reminder of the ship’s strategic importance,
the state-run Global Times newspaper said.

India’s unveiling yesterday of its first homegrown carrier,
the Vikrant, provides a “stimulus” to China’s own efforts, the
newspaper said in an editorial.

“China should speed up its construction of domestic
aircraft carriers,” it said. “The earlier China establishes
its own aircraft carrier capabilities, the earlier it will gain
the strategic initiative.

The Chinese call and the Vikrant’s unveiling reflect a push
among Asian nations to beef up maritime forces as they jockey
for influence in a region rich in natural resources. Defense
budgets in China and Japan are growing, while the Philippines,
locked in a territorial dispute with China, is buying new ships
and helicopters and negotiating a closer military relationship
with the U.S.

The strategic deterrence provided by aircraft carriers is
significant, the Global Times said. The world’s large powers
have adjusted their strategies toward China based on estimates
of its military strength, it said.

China’s first aircraft carrier, built from an incomplete
Ukrainian hull and dubbed the Liaoning, began sea drills this
year. Song Xue, deputy chief of staff of the People’s Liberation
Army Navy, said in April that the country’s next carrier will be
larger and transport more fighters, according to the official
Xinhua News Agency.

Arms Race

China’s Defense Ministry warned Asian neighbors to be wary
of a Japanese military buildup after the government in Tokyo
unveiled a 19,500-ton helicopter warship named the Izumo this
month. The two countries are locked in a territorial dispute
over islands in the East China Sea.

‘‘India has adopted a different attitude than Japan toward
territorial disputes with China,” the editorial said.
“Meanwhile, India’s overall national strength lags behind that
of China. Therefore, China perceives Japan rather than India as
its biggest neighboring threat.”

At a ceremony in the port city of Kochi on the west coast
of India, the 37,500-ton, 260-meter-long (162-foot-long) Vikrant
was moved out of a building dock to a refitting dock for the
second phase of construction before it’s handed to the navy in
2016 or 2017, according to a statement from the country’s
Defense Ministry.

Proud Moment

“It is a red-letter day for the entire nation and a proud
moment for the country which has achieved self-reliance in the
field of warship design and construction,” Defense Minister
A.K. Antony said in a speech at the ceremony.

Satellite imagery of a shipbuilding facility near Shanghai
on Changxing Island suggests China has started construction of
an aircraft carrier, IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly said in a Aug. 2
e-mailed statement.

“Liaoning has been repeatedly described as a training
platform that would precede the construction and commissioning
of homegrown carriers,” said James Hardy, Asia Pacific editor
of IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, according to the statement.